Computer Programming
Clearly I have a pretty big passion for programming. I have been dabbling in game programming from the moment I started programming altogether. Over the years I have written a few different versions of an asteroids game called "Space Spuds" (Geoff Pearlman of REAL Software said the asteroid sprites looked like potatoes); one in REALbasic, one in C using SpriteWorld, and I started a third which was never finished using Torque 2D. Most recently, I created a multiplayer tetris game in two days as part of an iDevGames contest which has proven quite addictive with fellow members of the community.
Mountain Biking
My buddy Paul and I picked up mountain biking in March of 2008, and it has been quite a blast. Two months later, we have still only been to one particular location (about a dozen times), an 8 mile loop with about 500 feet of elevation change through Santiago Oaks, Weir Canyon, and Irvine Regional Park. It has a pretty technical downhill section near the end of loop which is quite challenging and rewarding. We've both had pretty big spills recently (I dislocated my shoulder) so there's been a bit of offtime for recovery. More recently we've spent a few nights in the dark in Peter's Canyon. Spooky.
Hiking, Outdoors
I love hiking. Particularly in Yosemite. I've hiked to the top of Nevada Falls twice, and in 2009 I went all the way to the top of Half Dome. There are still several trails left to do, of course. The top of Yosemite Falls, the Panorama trail to the top of Half Dome again, Old Inspiration point (still never done that), Merced lake... There's at least 100 miles of good trails left to do!
You can see photos of all of these adventures if you click on the Photos tab above.
Racing
More so than programming, auto racing is my passion. Sadly, it's an expensive hobby and even more expensive to start as a career, but I am able to do enough to continually be reminded I need to do more. My dad started doing club racing back in 1998, in his ever-more-modified 1997 Eagle Talon TSi. We started a racing website called TurnFast.com with articles on how to become a better racing driver, which is still popular to this day.
I've driven the Talon twice at Buttonwillow (near Bakersfield), and once at the California Speedway on the infield track (which also uses about half of the oval), but sadly the car was retired to the garage for two years for various reasons. The car has recently been ressurected and is now once again smogged and street legal, despite having no windows and hardly an interior.
After a long break away from the track, I paid for a bunch of maintenance and new tires to take the car out to Buttonwillow in October of 2009. Click on the banner below to watch a highlights movie of my sessions.
Karting is a spectacular pick-me-up for those long droughts between being on the track. In April 2007 I was able to attend a "demo" day for the CRG chassis / Rotax engine package for the Rotax Max Challenge Series out in Perris CA. Despite the downpour of rain and complete lack of grip on full slicks, I was blown away by how fast a true racing kart can be and was hooked. Over the next six months I went to four all-day driving events with the karts and had an absolute riot, particularly at the now-closed Moran Raceway, the best kart track there was around here.
Sadly, karting is amazingly expensive given their size, so I've more or less given up on that and am working on getting into organized car racing, probably through Spec Miata. It costs about the same as karting, so heck... why not?
Evolution X
In February 2009, I bought a Mitsubishi Evoluion X GSR. I love it. I wanted a sports car that can actually fit four proper sized people (not two average sized, and then two little people / amputees in the back), and for $35,000, there's nothing better than Evo X.
It's all wheel drive, 5 speed manual, twin turbo, with 291 horsepower (tuning and minimal tweaks can get it close to 400). It's Mitsubishi's top-of-the-line car and has a big rally racing heritage, so there's a gajillion acronyms for different electronic systems in it. The AWD has three modes, Tarmac / Gravel / Snow, for shifting the power from a 50/50 distribution, to more rear, and more front. There's the ASC, ACD, AYC, SABS, all controlled by one central system called SAWC. It's mild in terms of horsepower compared to some other cars, but the electronics in the handling are some of the best out there. I can confirm with personal experience that it's pretty darn awesome.
Other goodies:
- Seven airbags. Driver and passenger front and seat-mounted, there's full-length curtains that come down from the top, and "driver's knee" airbag.
- Beefy Rockford Fosgate sound system.
- Blindingly bright Xenon headlights.
- FAST keyless entry and starting, so I don't even have to unlock it or stick in the key to start it. It just knows it's me.
- It says Hello and Goodbye. It's very friendly.